1969 Chappellet Brings $64,575 at Heritage, Leads Wine Auction Past $2.4 Million

The 5-liter bottle of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is one of only four ever produced DOWNLOAD DIGITAL PRESS KIT DALLAS, Texas (March 26, 2024) — A 5-liter bottle of 1969 Chappellet Cabernet Sauvignon sold Friday at Heritage Auctions for $64,575. That bottle was the top lot in Heritage’s March 22 Fine & Rare Wine Signature® Auction, which realized a total of $2,489,183. The 1969 Chappellet — widely considered one of the greatest wines ever made in Napa Valley — comes from the collection of Napa Valley restaurateur Alex Dierkhising, who bought the bottle in 1981 during the first Napa Valley Wine Auction. Dierkhising paid $6,000 for the bottle, which is one of only four 5-liter bottles produced by the winery and the only one sold to the public. The other three bottles were reserved for Chappellet family members. “This is not a rare bird. It might be the rarest of birds,” says Frank Martell, Heritage’s Senior Director of Fine & Rare Wine. The 5-liter bottle wasn’t the only 1969 Chappellet to perform well Friday evening. Two magnums of the sought-after vintage realized $54,120, and a single bottle sold for $17,220. Other highlights in the auction included three magnums of 1974 Heitz Martha’s Vineyard that realized $34,440, two bottles of 1991 Leroy Musigny that sold for $25,830, two bottles of 1980 Cros Parantoux that realized $20,295, four bottles of 1962 Maison Leroy Richebourg that sold for $13,530, six bottles of 2020 Screaming Eagle that realized $12,915, six magnums of Mayacamas from 1978-1980 that sold for $11,685 and six bottles of 2000 Sine Qua Non Heels over Head that realized $10,762. For the full results of Heritage’s March 22 Fine & Rare Wine Signature® Auction, visit HA.com/5553. Heritage Auctions is the largest fine art and collectibles auction house founded in the United States, and the world's largest collectibles auctioneer. Heritage maintains offices in New York, Dallas, Beverly Hills, Chicago, Palm Beach, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Hong Kong and Tokyo. Heritage also enjoys the highest Online traffic and dollar volume of any auction house on earth (source: SimilarWeb and Hiscox Report). The Internet's most popular auction-house website, HA.com, has more than 1,750,000 registered bidder-members and searchable free archives of 6,000,000 past auction records with prices realized, descriptions and enlargeable photos. Reproduction rights routinely granted to media for photo credit. For breaking stories, follow us: HA.com/Facebook and HA.com/Twitter . Link to this release or view prior press releases . ac Hi-Res images available: Rhonda Reinhart, Communications Specialist 214-409-1798 or RhondaR@HA.com